Fixed, floating, and everything in between — designed for the realities of TVA-managed lakes and built by our own crew on our own work barge.
A Blue Horizon dock is engineered for the realities of Tennessee lakes — full-pool swells, fall drawdowns, freeze-thaw cycles, and decades of family use. We start with a site visit to assess your shoreline, water depth, and bottom conditions, then put a real plan and a real price on paper.
Every dock is built for the water it lives on. Fixed docks ride on driven posts — 6×6 or 9-inch round poles — with hot-dipped galvanized hardware. Floating docks use marine-grade aluminum frames with stainless-steel hardware. Whether you’re after a clean fishing dock, a two-story floating boathouse with a party deck, or a teardown-and-replace on an aging structure, the path is the same: in-house crew, marine materials, and a TVA permit submission you don’t have to think about.
The lake decides more than the owner does. Stable shorelines and modest drawdown favor fixed docks. Big seasonal swings on lakes like Douglas, Norris, and Cherokee favor floating. Here’s the short version of each.
The gold standard for stable shorelines and lower-fluctuation water — private lakes, Chickamauga, Nickajack, Watts Bar, Fort Loudoun, and sheltered coves on bigger reservoirs. Pile-driven posts, pressure-treated framing, marine hardware — built for a lifetime of use.
Built to ride the seasonal drawdown on Douglas, Norris, Cherokee, and the rest of the big-fluctuation lakes. Marine-grade aluminum frames, galvanized steel framing options, composite decking, integrated Floatair lifts, and pile-guided anchoring rated for the full water-level range.
Four material categories we build around — mixed and matched to fit your shoreline, your budget, and how long you want to forget the dock is there.
0.80 CCA pressure-treated southern yellow pine for round piles, 6x6 posts, and lower-level framing. Resistant to rot, insects, and the wet-dry cycle of standing water.
Splinter-free, color-stable, low-maintenance boards rated for waterfront UV exposure. Owens Corning marine-grade and Trex composite options in multiple colors.
The structural backbone of every floating dock we build — lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and zero-maintenance. Powder-coated finishes available.
Hot-dipped galvanized bolts, brackets, and connectors on fixed docks; stainless steel throughout on floating builds.
A starting point, not a catalog. Each layout is fully customizable to your shoreline, lake, and the way you actually use the water — available in fixed or floating configurations. See the full blueprint set →
Covered boathouse with full-width sundeck and dual slips.
Same covered footprint, with an integrated jet ski platform.
Hip-roof open pavilion with covered slip and side deck.
Two-story platform with rooftop railing and stair access.
Covered slip with side deck wings — the cookout classic.
Covered double-slip boathouse with center walkway.
Open T-platform — clean, low-profile, deep-water moorage.
Classic T-shape, walkway plus crossbar. Fishing & tie-up favorite.
Open walkway plus an integrated covered jet ski slip.
Narrow covered slip with extended walkway for deep-water access.
Gable-roof covered slip optimized for fishing and clean storage.
Every dock on a TVA-managed lake needs a 26a permit. We file the paperwork, cover the $1,000 government fee, and manage the back-and-forth so you can wait for the water instead of the mailbox.
Same path on every dock — consult, design, permit, build. You stay in the loop on each step instead of buried in paperwork.
We walk your shoreline, take water depth and bottom readings, and talk through layout, slip count, and how you’ll actually use the dock.
You get a fixed or floating layout, material spec, lift sizing, and a real price. Nothing changes after sign-off without your say-so.
We file the application, cover the $1,000 fee, and manage every back-and-forth with TVA until the approval is in hand.
Our crew rolls in on our own work barge, builds clean, and hands you a finished dock with lifts installed and tested.
Most of our builds include at least a few of these. Add them at design time so they’re rolled into the permit and quote, or add them later when you’ve lived on the dock for a season.
It depends on the lake. Fixed docks are ideal where shorelines are stable and water levels don’t swing much — private lakes, the upper reaches of TVA reservoirs, and most coves on Chickamauga, Nickajack, Tellico, Watts Bar, and Fort Loudoun.
Floating docks make more sense on Douglas, Norris, Cherokee, and other lakes with significant seasonal drawdowns. The floating deck stays at a consistent height above the water through every season. We’ll walk your shoreline and tell you which makes sense.
From signed contract to tied-up boat, plan on 4–7 months. The biggest variable is the TVA 26a permit, which can run up to 150 days. Once permits are in hand and materials are on site, fixed dock builds finish in 3–5 weeks; floating dock builds in 2–4 weeks.
Yes — on every build we sign. We file the application, cover the $1,000 government fee, and manage every site visit and back-and-forth with TVA until the permit is approved. See the TVA 26a permits page for the full process.
Absolutely. Tear-out, haul-off, and a permit-ready replacement is one of our most common jobs — we can handle a piece or the whole thing, including TVA 26a removal permits. Most demos finish in 2–3 days on site.
Three common methods, picked based on depth and bottom type: pile-guided (the dock rides up and down on a vertical pile), cable or chain anchor (anchored to weights on the lake bottom), and shore-and-pile (a hybrid for variable depths). We’ll spec the right one during design.
Yes — that’s standard on most of our builds. Tide Tamer for fixed docks, Floatair platforms for floating docks, and WaveArmor / American Muscle for jet skis. See the boat lifts page for sizing and brand details.
Yes. Private lakes typically don’t require a TVA 26a permit, which simplifies and speeds the build. We’ve worked on dozens of private lakes across East and Middle Tennessee.
Tell us what lake you’re on and what you’re picturing. We’ll come walk the shoreline and get you a layout, material spec, and price within the week.
We’ll reach out within one business day.
